Creating a 'holiday' video with music in the background
Discussion
teJ.R.B. said:
Studio117 said:
Don't, they are usually god awful.
This.Holiday videos are almost always terrible... Quite simply because no one wants to watch a video of your holiday. Not even the people who were present on the holiday.
I will never forget sitting though about an hour of footage of some relatives holiday to Florida... It was 15 years ago and I still have nightmares!
But if you want to add music to a video and even do a bit of light editing then I recommend iMovie on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Very easy to use and works well.
Personally, I love seeing places my friends and family have been and what they got up to. I'm aware I'm in a minority but don't be put off by the cynicism here. Have a go.
It is true that most holiday videos are boring but I believe you can make them watchable as long as you stick to a few rules.
1. Keep your shots under five seconds long; preferably half that. It's amazing how fast people absorb video and the effect is greater when music is playing. It's equally amazing how quickly that shot stops being interesting.
2. Mix up shots of people with the places / scenery. A simple shot like somebody smiling, your family messing about or even a stranger doing something odd is always welcome.
3. Use shots unique to you i.e. don't feel inclined to show the landmarks. That stuff has been comprehensively covered by experienced professionals with better equipment, so there's no point competing with them. You only need to show Niagara Falls to establish that you're there.
4. Keep it short. It should be a summary of the trip, as if you're explaining it in a paragraph. Be absolutely ruthless in the edit. As soon as you've shown the Eiffel Tower from a couple of angles, it's done. Move on.
5. Try and choose music with general appeal rather than just your favourite tunes. Nobody's interested in your taste in music.
6. A tune with a consistent rythmn can give you a handy edit guide so dance music works well.
7. Don't expect anyone but yourself to enjoy it so make it for yourself to look back on.
It is true that most holiday videos are boring but I believe you can make them watchable as long as you stick to a few rules.
1. Keep your shots under five seconds long; preferably half that. It's amazing how fast people absorb video and the effect is greater when music is playing. It's equally amazing how quickly that shot stops being interesting.
2. Mix up shots of people with the places / scenery. A simple shot like somebody smiling, your family messing about or even a stranger doing something odd is always welcome.
3. Use shots unique to you i.e. don't feel inclined to show the landmarks. That stuff has been comprehensively covered by experienced professionals with better equipment, so there's no point competing with them. You only need to show Niagara Falls to establish that you're there.
4. Keep it short. It should be a summary of the trip, as if you're explaining it in a paragraph. Be absolutely ruthless in the edit. As soon as you've shown the Eiffel Tower from a couple of angles, it's done. Move on.
5. Try and choose music with general appeal rather than just your favourite tunes. Nobody's interested in your taste in music.
6. A tune with a consistent rythmn can give you a handy edit guide so dance music works well.
7. Don't expect anyone but yourself to enjoy it so make it for yourself to look back on.
durbster said:
Personally, I love seeing places my friends and family have been and what they got up to. I'm aware I'm in a minority but don't be put off by the cynicism here. Have a go.
It is true that most holiday videos are boring but I believe you can make them watchable as long as you stick to a few rules.
1. Keep your shots under five seconds long; preferably half that. It's amazing how fast people absorb video and the effect is greater when music is playing. It's equally amazing how quickly that shot stops being interesting.
2. Mix up shots of people with the places / scenery. A simple shot like somebody smiling, your family messing about or even a stranger doing something odd is always welcome.
3. Use shots unique to you i.e. don't feel inclined to show the landmarks. That stuff has been comprehensively covered by experienced professionals with better equipment, so there's no point competing with them. You only need to show Niagara Falls to establish that you're there.
4. Keep it short. It should be a summary of the trip, as if you're explaining it in a paragraph. Be absolutely ruthless in the edit. As soon as you've shown the Eiffel Tower from a couple of angles, it's done. Move on.
5. Try and choose music with general appeal rather than just your favourite tunes. Nobody's interested in your taste in music.
6. A tune with a consistent rythmn can give you a handy edit guide so dance music works well.
7. Don't expect anyone but yourself to enjoy it so make it for yourself to look back on.
Photos on mine were 2 seconds long and as you say 90% of the time featured people in them rather than just a recreation of photos on the net already. Sometimes you'd miss details in them but for the people on the trip they were still good. Mine hit 18 minutes for an 18 day trip which sounds a lot but when played back it seems to fly by.It is true that most holiday videos are boring but I believe you can make them watchable as long as you stick to a few rules.
1. Keep your shots under five seconds long; preferably half that. It's amazing how fast people absorb video and the effect is greater when music is playing. It's equally amazing how quickly that shot stops being interesting.
2. Mix up shots of people with the places / scenery. A simple shot like somebody smiling, your family messing about or even a stranger doing something odd is always welcome.
3. Use shots unique to you i.e. don't feel inclined to show the landmarks. That stuff has been comprehensively covered by experienced professionals with better equipment, so there's no point competing with them. You only need to show Niagara Falls to establish that you're there.
4. Keep it short. It should be a summary of the trip, as if you're explaining it in a paragraph. Be absolutely ruthless in the edit. As soon as you've shown the Eiffel Tower from a couple of angles, it's done. Move on.
5. Try and choose music with general appeal rather than just your favourite tunes. Nobody's interested in your taste in music.
6. A tune with a consistent rythmn can give you a handy edit guide so dance music works well.
7. Don't expect anyone but yourself to enjoy it so make it for yourself to look back on.
Clips consisted of zip lining through the Daintree rain forest, the great barrier reef, rafting the Tully, 4x4 on Fraser Island, V8 Supercars in Gold Coast, the blue mountains and some other clips that will mean more to people on the trip. Went down well for anyone that has seen it but it's more for me and the others on the trip to keep as a memory.
I do a bit of home video/picture editing.
It is basically to condense 12 months of my families life (two kids) to 30 minutes video. I use music relevant to that year (bands seen, chart music and music bought). I then give them as 'gifts' to relatives who we don't see often.
I never trawl through all my old photos/ video (15 years worth of digital history), but do occasionally watch these videos as a nostalgia trip - hopefully even more so in years to come....
I use a 3 second rule for photos, have an interlude and some general theme to the video. I use Sony Vegas platinum which I find easy to use, especially with the in built tutorials.
It is basically to condense 12 months of my families life (two kids) to 30 minutes video. I use music relevant to that year (bands seen, chart music and music bought). I then give them as 'gifts' to relatives who we don't see often.
I never trawl through all my old photos/ video (15 years worth of digital history), but do occasionally watch these videos as a nostalgia trip - hopefully even more so in years to come....
I use a 3 second rule for photos, have an interlude and some general theme to the video. I use Sony Vegas platinum which I find easy to use, especially with the in built tutorials.
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